Masdar Arlington Energy, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company - Masdar, has broken ground at the sites of two new battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in the UK.

The Royle Barn Road plant in Rochdale and Welkin Road plant in Stockport will have a combined capacity of 55MW and provide enough energy to power 25,700 homes.

The new BESS projects are being developed on previously industrialised sites, conforming to Masdar Arlington Energy’s strategy to house projects on land in need of redevelopment and regeneration.

Masdar Arlington Energy is pursuing an ambitious 3GWh pipeline of BESS projects in the UK. Today’s groundbreaking comes a year after Masdar announced the company’s commitment to invest £1 billion in BESS in the UK.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar Chief Executive Officer, said, “To achieve the global energy transition agreed in the UAE Consensus, we need to utilize world-changing renewable energy sources and technology, including wind, solar and battery energy storage. The two BESS plants we are breaking ground on today underline the critical role energy storage will play in helping energy systems and infrastructure in the UK and across the globe to move away from carbon-intensive sources of power.”

Husain Al Meer, Masdar Director, Global Offshore Wind & UK, added, “Grid-level energy storage is critical to the long-term adoption of renewable energy in the grid. Our £1 billion investment in BESS in the UK highlights Masdar’s commitment to advancing storage solutions to help commercialize clean technologies. Today’s announcement adds to our growing portfolio of BESS projects around the globe with more to come in the future.”

BESS provides a solution to the intermittency issues which affect renewable energy sources, storing excess electricity generated by solar plants and wind farms to be distributed during the periods when they are unable to provide power.

Masdar’s acquisition of UK-based Arlington Energy in October 2022 acted as a springboard for the company’s shift from investor to an active developer and supporter of the UK’s energy transition through BESS and offshore wind. In 2021, Masdar established its global headquarters for offshore wind in the UK, recruiting dedicated teams to oversee its BESS and global offshore wind businesses.

Meanwhile, Mashreq announced closing a US$88 million one-year syndicated term loan facility for Joint-Stock Commercial Bank “Agrobank”. Mashreq acted as sole coordinator, initial mandated lead arranger, bookrunner, and facility agent for the deal.

Marking a debut transaction for an Uzbekistan state-owned bank in the MENA region, the facility was oversubscribed by 75%, and its proceeds will be used towards general corporate purposes.

Joel Van Dusen, Group Head of Corporate & Investment Banking at Mashreq, said, “We are pleased to have facilitated this landmark deal with Agrobank and be part of the bank’s growth journey. The collaboration reinforces Mashreq’s commitment to fostering growth in emerging markets and supporting small businesses operating in vital sectors, such as agriculture.”

The facility was initially launched at US$50 million and closed at US$88 million due to the positive market interest from investors in the Middle East, Europe, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region. ]]>